Chapter 6: RFID in Libraries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5860/ltr.46n8Abstract
The implementation of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies by U.S. libraries is noteworthy for the controversy that resulted when organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU protested libraries’ adoption of RFID and argued that the privacy risks posed by RFID were so great that libraries should avoid adopting RFID technology altogether. Nearly a decade later, RFID is an accepted technology in libraries, thanks in part to the profession's adoption of best practices that minimize the technology's potential to erode library users’ privacy.
The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has since published a document, RFID in U.S. Libraries , that contains recommended practices intended to facilitate the use of radio frequency identification in library applications. Though the document includes privacy within its charge, it does not include or discuss the best practices adopted by the library profession.
This article reviews the controversy surrounding the use of RFID technologies in U.S. libraries and the steps taken by the library profession to resolve those issues. It evaluates and discusses the privacy recommendations made by NISO's RFID Working Group on RFID in U.S. Libraries.
References
Lori Bowen Ayre, “Wireless Tracking in Libraries: Benefits, Threats, and Responsibilities,” in RFID: Applications, Security, and Privacy, ed. Simson Garfinkel and Beth Rosenberg, 229–243 (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley, 2005); Alan Butters, “RFID Systems, Standards, and Privacy within Libraries,” The Electronic Library 25, no. 4 (2007): 430–439; David Molnar and David Wagner, “Privacy and Security in Library RFID Issues, Practices, and Architectures,” in Proceedings of the 11th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, ed. Birgit Pfitzmann and Peng Liu, 210–219 (New York: ACM, 2004).nAyre, “Wireless Tracking in Libraries”; Laura Smart, “Considering RFID: Benefits, Limitations, and Best Practices,” College and Research Library News 66, no. 1 (Jan. 2005): 13–16, 42.nAlan Butters, “Radio Frequency Identification: An Introduction for Library Professionals,” Aplis 19, no. 4 (2006): 164–174.nRichard W. Boss, RFID Technology for Libraries, June 30, 2009. www.lita.org/ala/mgrps/divs/pla/plapublications/platechnotes/rfidtechnology.cfmnBoss, RFID Technology for Libraries.nSmart, “Considering RFID.”nElectronic Frontier Foundation, “Statement to the San Francisco Library Commission,” Oct. 1, 2003, www.eff.org/files/filenode/rfid/sfpl_comments_oct012003.pdfnAlorie Gilbert, “California Probes RFID Technology,” Globe and Mail, Aug. 11, 2003.nDavid Ewalt, “Wal-Mart Shelves RFID Experiment,” Information Week, July 14, 2003.nOffice for Intellectual Freedom, Intellectual Freedom Manual, 8th ed. (Chicago: American Library Association, 2010).nVinod Chachra and Daniel McPherson, Personal Privacy and Use of RFID Technology in Libraries, Oct. 31, 2003, www.vtls.com/media/en-US/brochures/vtls_fastrac_privacy.pdfnBoss, RFID Technology for Libraries; Butters, “RFID Systems, Standards, and Privacy within Libraries”; David Dornan, “Technically Speaking: RFID Poses No Problem for Patron Privacy,” American Libraries, Dec. 2003: 86.nWalt Crawford, “Technology, Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security,” in “Policy and Library Technology,” Library Technology Reports 41, no. 2 (March–April 2005): 24–30; Schneider, “RFID and Libraries”; Smart, “Considering RFID.”nIbid.nMolnar and Wagner, “Privacy and Security in Library RFID Issues”; Scott Muir, “RFID Security Concerns,” Library Hi Tech 25, no. 1 (2007): 95–107.nMolnar and Wagner, “Privacy and Security in Library RFID Issues.”nButters, “RFID Systems, Standards, and Privacy within Libraries.”nButters, “Radio Frequency Identification”; Molnar and Wagner, “Privacy and Security in Library RFID Issues.”nSmart, “Considering RFID.”nSchneider, “RFID and Libraries.”nAyre, “Wireless Tracking in Libraries.”nOffice for Intellectual Freedom, Intellectual Freedom Manual.nBook Industry Study Group, Radio Frequency Identification, BISG Policy Statement POL-002, Sept. 2004, www.bisg.org/docs/BISG_Policy_002.pdfn“History: RFID in Libraries: Privacy and Confidentiality Guidelines” in Intellectual Freedom Manual, Eighth Edition, compiled by the Office for Intellectual Freedom,288-292 (Chicago: American Library Association, 2010).nIbid. at 289–90; see also “Resolution on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology and Privacy Principles,” Jan. 19, 2005, www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/ifresolutions/rfidresolution.cfmnIbid. at 291–292.nIbid.; see also 284–287.nConnie K. Haley, Lynne A. Jacobsen, and Shai Robkin, Radio Frequency Identification Handbook for Librarians (Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2007); Diane Marie Ward, The Complete RFID Handbook (New York: Neal Schuman, 2007).nNational Information Standards Organization, RFID in U.S. Libraries, NISO RP-6–2008, Dec. 2008, www.niso.org/apps/group_public/download.php/116/RP-6-2008.pdfnChachra and McPherson, “Personal Privacy and Use of RFID Technology;” NISO, RFID in U.S. Libraries, 37.nNISO,
RFID in U.S. Libraries
, viii, 37–40.nIntellectual Freedom Manual
, 288-292.nMichael E. Levine and Jennifer Forrence, “Regulatory Capture, Public Interest, and the Public Agenda: A Synthesis,”
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, 6, special issue 1990, 167–198.nThirteen states have adopted laws regulating RFID use in drivers’ licenses and other identity documents and human implantation. Four states criminalize the unauthorized skimming of RFID-enabled identity cards if done for a criminal purpose. (See National Conference of State Legislatures, State Statutes Relating to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Privacy, Sept. 2010, www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=13442nnGordon Flagg, “Should Libraries Play Tag with RFIDs?” (2003)
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, December, 69–71.n
